Downtown San Antonio church evacuated

Updated 12:17 pm, Thursday, June 12, 2014

A suspicious package call came in from a janitor near the corner of N. Alamo Street and McCullough Ave. in downtown San Antonio. Members of the San Antonio Police Department bomb unit as well as a bomb-sniffing dog were brought in to assess the package. Police blocked off several streets to car and pedestrian traffic in all directions. less

A suspicious package call came in from a janitor near the corner of N. Alamo Street and McCullough Ave. in downtown San Antonio. Members of the San Antonio Police Department bomb unit as well as a ... more

A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of McCullough Avenue, according to San Antonio police.

A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of McCullough Avenue, according to San Antonio police.

Photo: Alia Malik/San Antonio Express-News

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A hazmat team works the scene on North Alamo.

A hazmat team works the scene on North Alamo.

Photo: Joe Cook/San Antonio Express-News

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A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of McCullough Avenue, according to San Antonio police.

A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of McCullough Avenue, according to San Antonio police.

Photo: Joe Cook/San Antonio Express-News

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A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of North Alamo Street, according to San Antonio police.

A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of North Alamo Street, according to San Antonio police.

Photo: Alia Malik/San Antonio Express-News

Image 6 of 6

A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of North Alamo Street, according to San Antonio police.

A suspicious package was found just before 9 in the 500 block of North Alamo Street, according to San Antonio police.

Photo: Joe Cook/San Antonio Express-News

Downtown San Antonio church evacuated

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SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio police and fire units shut down two blocks in downtown Thursday morning after a reported suspicious package outside the First Presbyterian Church turned out to be a container of leaking ink.

The package was reported shortly after 9 a.m. in the 500 block of McCullough Avenue at North Alamo Street, according to San Antonio police. The package was found less than two blocks from the San Antonio Express-News building, which includes a printing press, but authorities could not confirm whether the ink came from the building.

San Antonio police were the first to respond, and bomb-sniffing dogs were dispatched to the scene. The dogs did not alert detectives to the presence of explosives. A hazardous materials team was called in to handle the situation, and determined that the liquid seeping from the package was ink.

The church evacuated about 130 people, which included staff and children at the daycare operated there.

Authorities said that a custodian who worked for the church discovered the box, and alerted authorities.

A spokesman for the church said that the staff was prepared for this type of situation.

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“Everyone is well-trained to respond quickly and professionally in a potential emergency and our first priority is the safety of the children,” he said. “Today was a good example of seeing first-hand how important our police and fire departments are in this community.”